Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Bush Legacy and Obama's Future by Andrew Cohen

The identity of this American nation was forged quite inconspicuously with a single shot “heard round the world.” Similarly, the future of America as a democratic nation rested on the fate of the D-day invasion into Normandy. This last Tuesday welcomed a new chapter in the great yet oppressive history of the United States of America. The string that tied all three of these unprecedented events together was the valiant efforts of those martyrs who fought for the ideal and promise of freedom.

To fully comprehend this historic inauguration of the first African American to the Presidential office, I will retrace the legacy left by former President George W. Bush and how he will affect President Obama’s future. Head of the Politics and Government Department Joe Alulis stated, “for better or worse President Bush demonstrated the willingness and capacity of the U.S. to use force unilaterally and proactively in the face of perceived threats in defense both of this nation and of the liberal world order represented by institutions like the UN and WTO, which the U.S. took the lead in founding.” That positive outlook of former President Bush is matched by the ferocity of anti-President Bush protesters.

My brief time in Washington DC rediscovered this bipolar outlook of former President Bush. There were protesters that stated, “Arrest [President] Bush for his crimes against humanity…give him what he deserves” (indicating the middle finger.) However there were also signs on churches that thanked former President Bush for protecting unborn fetuses.

Weighing in on President Bush’s legacy was Director of Middle Eastern Studies Don Wagner stating, “The previous 8 years of the Bush Administration have brought us two unfinished wars (Iraq and Afghanistan), considerable deceit in leading our nation into the Iraq war, and a civil war waiting to happen in Pakistan. The early display of arrogance by the President and the 'go at it alone' policy have left the U.S. image in the world at its lowest level in my lifetime… Here at home we are left with the worst financial situation since the Great Depression and we may not have hit bottom yet. My guess is that most Americans would say that in terms of their personal finances, the U.S. image abroad, and overall quality of life, that as a nation and personally we are in a far worse condition today than we were eight years ago. It may take us a decade or two to climb out of the Bush legacy, ranking it as one of the most disastrous administrations in U.S. history.”

What is odd and mostly ironic was that when former President Bush campaigned for presidency, he was known for his aggressive domestic agenda. Yet after 9/11, the majority of his domestic dreams soon went by the wayside, due to the consuming efforts of two global wars. President Obama being recognized as “the president to fix domestic problems” makes the irony contemporary, when ties in Iraq and Afghanistan need to be latched down, Israel continues to massacre Palestinians, and our neighbor to the south is looking more and more unstable, President Obama will inevitably break from his domestic problems to bolster a humanitarian foreign policy agenda. What is even more difficult to conceive is that that list of nations didn’t even include the usual players of North Korea, Cuba, Russia, and China.
What did happen to that domestic agenda proposed by President Bush? Susan Page of the USA Today stated, “His signature No Child Left Behind education bill? Overshadowed. Individual investment accounts in Social Security? Beaten back. Tax simplification? Shelved. The 'compassionate conservative' he described in 2000? Replaced by a wartime president arguing the need to stay the course in a conflict that has lasted longer and cost more than most Americans imagined when it began.”

“They [the American citizen] were expecting to move on to a bunch of other things in the second term like Social Security reform and the ‘ownership society,’ but all that has been pushed aside because of Iraq,” says political scientist Steven Schier, author of High Risk and Big Ambition: The Presidency of George W. Bush. “It's the whale in the bathtub for the administration.”

“War kills reform,” says Robert Dallek, an LBJ biographer and author of Hail to the Chief: The Making and Unmaking of American Presidents. “It consumes the energy of the administration, the public, the press. This is what the focus is on.” In the final days of President Bush’s administration, he showed unprecedented transparency stating in his farewell address, “As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11 -- but I never did. Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our nation. And I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe.” Continuing an oft-stated theme of his administration, the president added, “There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. But there can be little debate about the results. America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil.”

Is it possible to reconcile the Bush legacy? With both sides pointing their partisan fingers at one another, that seems like a far off fantasy. What will be paramount in moving forward is understanding the past, but not dwelling upon it. Liberals will point to the Iraq war as the epitome of an imperial presidency, whereas republicans will point to the same war as a justified war against terrorism, and one that most liberals voted for too. These points of tension will continue to delay attempts at true bipartisanship, unless both sides come to the table not for themselves, but for the people they represent.

Former President Bush continued the mood of bipartisanship as he succeeded his power during the inauguration. “In a tradition dating back to our founding, the presidency will pass to a successor chosen by you, the American people,” he said. “Standing on the steps of the Capitol will be a man whose story reflects the enduring promise of our land. This is a moment of hope and pride for our whole nation. And I join all Americans in offering best wishes to President-elect Obama, his wife Michelle and their two beautiful girls.”

There have been comparisons of President Obama as the second Lincoln, MLK Jr, or even a Christ-like figure, yet they fail his true identity. Commenting on President Obama’s superstar status, Professor Alulis stated, “The world is painting president-elect Obama as the anti-Bush or 'unBush' and praising this image to the skies in the hopes that by flattery they may dissuade the new president from acting in any way that they perceive as harmful to their interests however short-sighted or self-serving. One may hope that president-elect Obama will be able to build on Bush's legacy by resetting the clock on U.S. relations with its allies with a greater likelihood that our allies will support us in the future when we act resolutely for the universal good.” While that may have been an overly callous outlook upon President Obama, Professor Alulis brought back to reality that Obama is merely man, and to place all hope on him is both morally wrong and intellectually worthless.

History will provide ample thoughts about the legacy left by the Bush Presidency. While many did not agree with him, he did create great laughs that many “misunderestimated” about him. The enduring question will be, how has the former president affected the view of America and will that prove to be negative for President Obama? The American Revolution, WW II, and President Obama’s inauguration tested, and will continue to test, the American resolve. Let's pray it won’t break.

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